HEAL: Sugar Detox Failure Led to Lessons Learned

My sugar detox was going so well; a full 30 minutes of my 1.5 hour workout this morning was spent jogging while repeating the mantra "sugar is not my friend", I made myself all types of sugar-free and wholesome snacks,  and I maintained my commitment to "no added or refined sugar"...until 8 pm.  My husband unintentionally taunted me with his regular evening snack of crisp toast topped with Nutella, and I snapped...like a doberman.  I ran to the freezer and grabbed a Trader Joe's mini-ice cream cone; "it's only 70 calories and 5 grams of sugar...it's not that bad," I reasoned.  It unfortunately didn't stop there.  In my dopamine/serotonin induced stupor, I went on to shamelessly consume a chocolate cookie. My detox was officially over.

Onwards and upwards, a few good lessons were found in the ruins of my detox:

• Consuming sugar makes you want more
• What does this mean? Once I gave in to my first sweet treat, I immediately wanted more. There is a logical reason to all of this (a big thanks to Dr. Aaliya, @DrAaliya, for enlightening me on this process); as you consume sugar, your brain's pleasure center the nucleus accumbens receives a dopamine signal.  You consume more sugar because it makes you happy, but with  prolonged exposure, the signal weakens.  You have to consume more sugar to get the same effect.  Does this sound like the story of drug addiction or is it just me?  Check The Atlantic for a deep dive on this topic.
• For serious addicts: minimize sugar consumption earlier in the day or delay it entirely until as late in the day as possible
• Based on the process above, it seems to me that addicts should try to delay their initial sugar consumption (outside of fruit) as much as possible (in terms of time of day) so as to prevent the urge to consume more sugar after a first "exposure"
• Following this strategy will also let you "save" your sugar intake for the goodies you absolutely must have
• Set a daily sugar limit for yourself and don't exceed it
• Sugar addict or not, it's almost impossible to avoid sugar entirely.  Just like most of us set a general calorie intake level for ourselves, we should also figure out a limit per day of added sugars (refined sugar, high fructose corn syrup, agave, honey, etc).  For women, the American Heart Association recommends capping daily intake of added sugars at 6 teaspoons or 24 grams of sugar.  For men, the maximum recommended limit is 9 teaspoons or 36 grams of sugar per day. Some perspective: a can of coke contains 39 grams of sugar.   Also, set a cap on calories that come from sugary treats. 
• Get creative with your snacks
• Instead of reaching for honey to sweeten my afternoon yogurt, or adding a squirt of chocolate syrup to my morning yogurt-peanut butter smoothie, I came up with better snack alternatives to keep me full and sugar-free throughout the day
• Cottage cheese topped with topped persian cucumbers and half an avocado
• Spice with pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper
• Yogurt, peanut butter, and banana shake
• No sugar needed
• Raw almonds and walnuts
• That's it
• Tea or coffee with plain non-fat half-and-half or your favorite plain creamer
• You save yourself several grams of sugar from this small change alone
• Be sure to drink plenty of water to prevent hunger that really stems from thirst
• I have a BPA-free, clear bottle by Aladdin that I fill up at least twice a day - seeing my water consumption makes water more bearable to me than drinking it in a steel Sigg

I hope my failure provides you with valuable insights.  I know it did for me.

HEAL: 7 Day Sugar Detox Plan

If you read my blog, I do a ton of preaching about reducing fat and refined sugars; unfortunately, I need to take my own advice, especially as it pertains to sugar and sweet treats.  I recently realized that my previously in-control sugar problem had spun out of control...like widely out of control. What was previously a weekly splurge or a daily sweet alternative (peanut butter in yogurt, vitamix banana ice-cream, etc) turned into the consumption of indulgent treats on a daily basis...you know things are bad when you're embarrassed to admit to your significant other that you bear full responsibility for the empty bag of chocolate chip cookies...that was full yesterday. The worst part was my Pavlovian response to any mention of a sweet treat...salivating at the mention of a cupcake makes you really second guess how much control you have over your fatty tendencies.

I've been trying to talk myself out of reaching for sweets due to the negative health impacts of sugar, but have had little to no success. Fortunately, my vanity forced me to admit my problem, and plan a swift plan of attack.  After all, I work dang hard to fit into my size 2 jeans, and I don't plan on giving that up because I had one (or five too many) macarons. By the way, the picture featured here are the treats I had in the last 10 days...not good!

There's a great WebMD slideshow that talks about the body's relationship with sugar and resulting addictions - check it out to better understand the problem before diving unto my solution below:

1. I am eliminating all added sugars for the next 7 days
1. This includes honey, agave, stevia, etc, etc
2. I am reducing my fruit intake...slightly
1. I love, love, love fruit, but I plan on reducing my fruit to vegetable ratio  I'm thinking 4-5 servings vegetables to 2-3 servings of fruit (I know this sounds like alot of fruits and vegetables per day, but some pretty authoritative sources are recommending between 5-13 servings per day vs the old 5) during this detox
3. I am creating a "tolerance" plan for when my sugar cravings hit...and they will hit
1. I plan to drink plain green tea, drink a glass of water, do a few jumping jacks, and maybe even take a walk
2. I also plan to avoid situations that encourage social sweet consumption like frozen yogurt or cupcake outings with friends
4. If the cravings continue at day 7, I'm extending my detox and repeating steps 1-3 for another 7 days

Watch out for my blog posts over the next week; hopefully, I'll be able to contain my jitters for long enough to write them...

SIDES: Warm, Spicy, Low-fat Spinach Dip

I love warm spinach dips, but they're typically very fattening.  The problem is most dips use heavy cheese or sour cream, which really up the ante on the fat-factor.  I made this dip for a family Super Bowl party and it was a hit.

Serving Size: 10-12

Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen, chopped spinach (typically 14-16 oz)
• 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cayenne or red chili powder
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 oz low or non-fat cream cheese (1/2 a small tub)
• 1 cup non-fat yogurt 
• 1/2 cup shredded low or non-fat cheddar cheese 

Instructions

• Heat garlic and spinach in a medium deep pan over medium heat
• Let water cook out of cpinach
• Add in all spices and stir thoroughly
• Add in yogurt - cook until the yogurt's water content dries out a bit (3-5 minutes)
• Add in cream cheese and stir throughly
• Let mixture heat for another 3-4 minutes
• Add in shredded cheese and stir thoroughly as the cheese melts
• Let cool 
• Enjoy with pita chips or wheat thins!